Google Purchases Waze

Google had its eyes set on the Israeli site Waze and now it has finally bought it. The tech giant purchased the rights to the social traffic app site and that in itself is reason enough for Google to toot its horn.

Google has finally sealed the deal and acquired the site named Waze. Facebook and Apple were earlier suitors for the Israel-based site and both couldn’t make it or backed out. That cleared the way for Google to buy Waze for a reported $1.1 or $1.3 billion which says a lot. According to the an official blog, the amount seems a bit steep for a small site no matter how much of a success story it may be. However, Google has plans of building its mapping domain and that was the main reason behind the acquisition. Waze has some pretty cool methods of predicting traffic conditions. It allows its users to find out beforehand where there are accidents, traffic jams, police surveillance or hot spots to eat or socialize. This is a big plus point. Google will probably deconstruct than reconstruct Waze closer to its heart’s desire. As for profitability, Waze ranks way up there along with the booming businesses of 2013. Google Maps will get a shot in the arm from this welcome addition to the family.

The money spent in excess of a billion dollars will be put to good use. Google had recently lagged behind Facebook but now it will recover lost ground with Waze on its side. Money after all is no concern in comparison with power itself. The traffic info provided by Waze will be very useful and a potential goldmine for Google. Google however faces antitrust advances from certain quarters due to its virtual monopoly on the mapping enterprise. Waze is all about location and social networking which when combined with connectivity lead to a dense web of contacts and free flow of information between consumers. The site had rejected Facebook due to the condition set by Mark Zuckerberg that the provenance be shifted. The people at Waze wanted to maintain their home turf advantage.

As a traffic site and navigational tool, Waze has the roads under its control and lends valuable information to its drivers regarding the why and wherefore of travelling. It became such a new sensation on the scene that it managed to gain the attention of Google, Facebook and Apple. The three engaged in a scuffle for the beautiful site and Google turned out to be the winner. And now Google doesn’t want anyone even casting a glance at Waze. But of course it has a right to its possessiveness seeing how much it has paid for the site.